Deflecting, guiding, and sizing means for loaf molding mechanisms



.1. E. MOHR ET AL 2,655,875 DEFLECTING, GUIDING, AND SIZING MEANS FORLOAF MOLDING MECHANISMS Oct 20, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed'June' 7.1948 INVENTORS MERL /N A. ST/CELBER BY JOHN E. MOHR A T TORNEV Get. 20,1953 MOHR ET AL 2,655,875

DEFLECTING, GUIDING, AND SIZING MEANS FOR LOAF MOLDING MECHANISMS FiledJune 7, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TORS MERLIN A. ST/CELBER y JOHN E.MOHR fad,

A 7' TORNEY Oct. 20, 1953 J. E. MOHR ET AL 2,655,875 DEFLECTING,GUIDING, AND szzms MEANS FOR LOAF MOLDING MECHANISMS Filed Jung '7, 19484 Sheets-Sheet 3 26 I 26 38 I /8 37 4 (D 33 2.3- f/Q 4 v 29 IN VEN TORSMERLIN A. .ST/CELBER y JOHN E. MOHR WEM A 7' TOR/VEY Oct. 20, 1953 M ETAL 2,655,875

DEFLECTING, GUIDING, AND SIZING MEANS FOR LOAF MOLDING MECHANISMS FiledJune 7, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS MERLIN A. .ST/CELBER y JOHN E.MOHR A T TORA/EV Patented Oct. 20, 195

UNITED STAT DEFLECTIN'G, GUIDING, AND S-i-ZING;

For: LOAF MOLDING MECHANISMS- John E. Molir, Springfield, in, analieiliir A} Sticelber,

Kansas pity,

assigna s; to

Stickellief 8% SO'I'I'S Inc a) corporation of Mis souri- Applicationjune'l',1948, Serial No.- 31,476

20Clai'1i1's'.

our invention relates'to loaf molding mechanisms, and more parti'cuiazly'td deflecting, guiding and sizing meansfdr sheete'd dough pieces insuch molding mechanisms. x In molding macnines tnat are provided withautomatic panning devices; it is necessary that the pieces of sheet'eddough that arecurle'd up on themselves to form" the" loaves will beproperly located and of roper size'befor fitering the loaf formingmech'ar'iis'm s'o thatthe' curled" up piece of" dough' forming themolded loaf will be fed into the'panin' proper alignment there"""th andof the proper length to'preventany port n of the loaf from overlappingeither en'd'of thepan Y In order for thelo'av'es to be pro'perl red'intothe pans, not only m'ustthese be of proper length, but if a; bakedloaf of brea'cl is to" be obtained that is of uniform cross sectionalsize from end toend thereof, the completely molded' loaf of bread mustbe of substantia'll'yithe same cross sectional size from end to endthereof. When lo'af forming mechanisms are utilized that cooperate withthe" conveyor belt that carries the completely molded'loav'es'tothe'parisof the pan. ning' mechanism, the sheet'edpie'ces' of dough thatare to be curled must" be fed tothe" loaf forming mechanism always fromthe same position transversely of the" belt' for eachisiicceedihgloafand must also be of substantiallynrfiforinf dimension transversely oftheb'elt in order that" the molded loaf will be of 'uniforrn' length.

It has been foundthat thet'eiztiire of lba'vesot bread i's'irnproved''b'y' curlingor' rolling'up the" pieces of dough in adirectibntransverse y o'f the direction in'whi'chthese were rolled orsneeten nthe sheeting mechanism ordinarily provided in molding machines forloaves" of bread; This r011;

ingupo'r curling of the sheeted' pieces'dfdoii'gh transversely to thedirection of sheeting resences a more uniform grain in the baked leafandvelop in the loaf during the proofing operation Whensuchtransversepurling'i is not performed.

In order'to' make use of transverse 'c'urlin'g" itis' necessaryto'placeth'e' sheeted iece of (rough on" the conveyor belt" of" thel'oafmolding and" pan; ning mechanism" in a" po'siti' that the dough itleft'the sheeting mechanism becomin ward andrea'r edges "of" the pieceof doug witnoutmeans for definitely locating oneedgeofna d e e. o th'9on y t; t is impos sible: to successfully utilize the transversecurling of sheeted pieces} of doughin conjunction with automatic panningthereof, because th6,,,successive dough-pieces fedto the'eonveyor beltwill be" m t dh; iifirentnp e tion c swise-ofthe convey-or belt andvill-thusbe ted to-the'curl-ing mechanism in different positionsresulting: loav'es thataremuch thicker at" one end than the other and inleaves that pass f-rom the conveyor hel t to thepans-inyarious locationscross wise of this-oonveyorbelt, causing; eitherone or" both ends oi thecompletel-ymolded loaf to; overlap the ends of the pansrresulting; in rnisshapeqs loaves, unless ahand operation is pertorrnedto re-arrange' themolded loafof bread in the pan after being fedi'nto it.

ositionon' this conveyor; belt as the successive dough pieces passedonto this-conveyor belt,- it

hasbeen'io'und thatin practice these feeding' clevice s"Will'not-operate successfully. One-proposal was 'to' attempt to fiipthepiece of dough fiatwise onto-the conveyor belt from a considerableheight above the conveyor; belti The dough pieces; turnedoverduringthis"flipping-so that the side that: was ppermost after being? sheetedwas downwardiwhejn itfreaehed the conveyor belt As the'flipping;mechanism involved the necessity of;

sudden release of"the' cl ough piece from a belt or drii'rli' or'similar member; the adhesiveness of; the

dough to the belt oridf uni or similar member; and its' w'ei'g'htre-term tes the flipping-action that-- n asaecam'piished, arid it hasbeen found th t eliminates the occasionallylarge holesthatdel veryslight variation the tendency ouf tl 1 e doli ghpiehejto sticktothebielt or drum-or similar; flipping device o'rfslight variations inweight of the dough piecevlill cause a very decided; variafeeding";avoldi 'rig the possibilitypf the dough piece 'a'dheii accomplished byproviding a conveyor tha tends crtsswi'seqr tne "panmf "'n'g andloafriiolding conveyor andf'feedsthe dougli' piece 156 saitf 5 ,11;ningan 1d on the loaf molding; and"pa'ni'1ing conveyor b'elt1'55 a pt'isltidifatbnesidethereofand only ata very the dougjh-piece thathasbeensheeted relative to g me hanisi conveyor trorn;

slightly higher level than said loaf molding and panning conveyor belt.The crosswise extending conveyor belt feeds the dough pieces from thesheeting mechanism at high speed and discharges the sheeted pieces ofdough with considerable momentum across the loaf molding and panningconveyor belt. By providing means for halting the transverse movement ofthe dough piece at a definite point and shooting the dough piece acrosssaid conveyor belt with such force that it will always pass intoengagement with such stop means, the one edge of the dough piece thatextends substantially parallel to the side edge of the curling andpanning mechanism conveyor belt is located at a definite fixed spacingfrom said side edge of the conveyor belt and each and every successivepiece of dough will have that side edge thereof at exactly the samespacing from the side edge of the conveyor belt.

In the use of our invention thedough pieces are sheeted so that the sameare approximately of the same maximum transverse and longitudinaldimension, or of slightly greater transverse than longitudinaldimension, as these leave the sheeting mechanism. Accordingly, whenthese dough pieces pass onto the conveyor belt that forms part of theloaf forming and panning mechanism, these sheeted pieces of dough eitherare of the same maximum dimension lengthwise as crosswise of thisbelt,'or of slightly greater dimension lengthwise of this belt thancrosswise thereof. It has been found desirable to make the dough pieceshave a greater length on this belt than width to get the desired shapeto the molded loaf after'it has been completely molded. Our sizing andguiding meansaccomplishes this by slightly reducing the dimension of thepiece of dough crosswise of the conveyor belt, while at the same timeforming a substantially straight edge along the side of the piece ofdough that was forward when it was projected onto the conveyor beltcrosswise thereof.

This slight re-shaping of the piece of dough is accomplished without anysubstantial amount of working of the piece of dough, the dough piecebeing very slightly thickened along the straight edge thereof and beingchanged from a shape that was substantially circular'to one that has onestraight side edge and is otherwise substantially circular. v

More specifically our invention comprises means for directing thesheeted piece of dough being forcibly projected transversely of aconveyor belt toward the conveyor belt to deflect the piece of doughdownwardly intoengagement with the upper surface of the conveyor beltsubstantially fiatwise, and for stopping. the transverse movement of thesheeted piece of dough at a precisely determined position from the :side'edgeof the conveyor belt most remote which the sheeting was done. 7

It is a further purpose of our invention to provide deflecting, ,guidingand sizing means for dough pieces comprising a belt that is mountedabove the. conveyor belt that forms part of the from that from tionthereof relative to the panning and loaf forming mechanism conveyorbelt, said adjusting means providing for the operation of the deflectingand guiding belt at an angle to said conveyor belt or parallel theretoas may be found desirable, dependent upon whether transverse curling orlongitudinal curling of the sheeted piece of dough is to be performedand to adjust the speed so as to have the lineal travel of the beltengaging the top side of the dough piece the same as that of theconveyor belt engaging the under side thereof. Our improved deflecting,guiding and sizing means thus is adapted for use for either transverseor longitudinal curling of the sheeted dough piece as may be desired bythe user thereof.

Due to the fact that the dough piece is slightly thickened along theside thereof that has the straight edge, it is desirable to providemeans for slightly re-distributing the dough so as to have the flattenedpiece of dough of substantially the same thickness throughout its area,and it is a purpose of our invention to provide means for re-shaping thesheeted or flattened piece of dough sufficiently to obtain uniformity ofthickness thereof, this being accomplished by means of a roller thatengages the dough piece after it leaves the deflecting and stopmechanism, the roller being mounted above the conveyor belt leading tothe loaf forming means and being vertically adjustable to engage piecesof sheeted dough to the desired extent to re-distribute the doughtransversely of the, piece the amount that is found to be desirable. 7

Other objects and advantages of our invention will appear as thedescription of the drawings proceeds. We desire to have it understood,however, that we do not intend to limit ourselves to the particulardetails'shown or described, except as defined in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view, partly broken away,

of a loaf molding and panning apparatus to which our invention isapplied.

, Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the loaf molding scale.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view through the panningand loaf forming con- .veyor, showing our improved deflecting, uidingand sizing means'in end elevation.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentaryside elevational View of the deflecting, guidingand sizing means shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a fragmentary portion of thepanning and loaf forming conveyor frame being shown.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 of the deflecting, guidingand sizingmeans in a difierent adjusted position. 1 Fig. 6 is a top planviewIshowing the sheeted been deflected and sized by our improvedapparatus, and

loaf forming and panningmechanism, and which has the lower run thereoftraveling in the same direction as said conveyor belt, and which 00operates with the panning mechanism belt to feed the dough'pieces towardthe loaf forming mechanism.

It is another .purposeof our invention topro- 'vide deflecting, "guidingand sizing means of the above mentioned character that is adjustable soas to vary the speed thereof and to vary the posi-' Fig. '7 is afragmentary longitudinal sectional i view through our improved loafforming apparatus, showing the various steps of a loaf from a sheetedpiece of dough.

Referring in detail to the drawings, in Figs. 1 and 2 is shown aportionof a bread molding machine that has a conveyor belt iii mountedon a suitable frame I! andoperating over a roller l2,.which isadjustably mounted in the frame, said conveyor belt extending fromsuitable sheeting mechanism 9, which may beof any standard-or desiredcharacter. The conveyor belt it travels in the direction indicated by.the arrow in'Figs.

apparatus on a somewhat larger forming aemezs:

the direction of travel of the. belt I'D. when these pieces of sheeteddough are located on said belt.

A belt l3 of a. loaf forming panning con veyor is provided, whichoperates in the direction of the arrow thereon in Figs. I and 2, thustraveling transversely to the direction of travel of the conveyor belt:lit. The conveyor. belt. Ill: discharges the pieces of sheeted doughwith considerable momentum off the. end thereof toward the right asviewed in Fig. 3-: across the conveyor belt l3. The conveyor belt l3:extendsaeross a table-like member li i', said conveyor belt is havingthe upper. run thereof traveling face to face on the top fiat face ofthe table-like member M, the said table-dike member being mounted on asuitable frame. The tendency ofthe pieces of dough discharged from theconveyor belt it is to travel slightly upwardly: as these. leave theconveyor belt. The. dough piece is indicated by the numeral [-5. and isshown in Fig. 3 in position after it has reached the con.- veyor beltl3' and is in its proper position thereon.

Inorder to deflectthe sheeted pieces ofdough toward the conveyor belt l3and prevent undensir-able upward movement ofthe sheeted pieces of dough55, away from said conveyor belt and assure the flatwise engagement ofthe sheeted pieces of dough with theconveyor belt, deflecting means isprovided. Not only is. it desirable to deflect: the pieces: of' doughdownwardly, but to stop the edge Hi: of the dough: piece l5 which wasforward in its: projection from the end of. the belt it, so thatsaidiorward edge I6 will have a definite spacing from the side edgeli'of the belt remote from the side thereof 'on. which theconveyor beltIt is located; to thusassure the exact position of said edge [6 andthus: of? the entire sheeted pieceof? dough transversely of: theconveyor belt l3.

The means: for deflecting and' halting the. transverse movement of thedough piece is-provided with a frame that is secured to the tablelikememberv i4; comprising-a pair-of transversely: extending rod-likemembers [8; which have ver-- tically extending end portions 19 and 20thatare secured to the table likemember- HS in any suitable manner,being shown as having enlarge.- ment or heads: 2! thereonthat are fixedto the under side of;- the tabl'e-like: member M1 The; rod-like membersl8" are provided with obliquely extending or inclined portions 22" thatconnect the transversely extending portions thereof with the downwardlyextending portions. l9: Said. frame also includes alongitudinallyextending member 23 that is secured infixed' position, as by means ofwelding, to the members: 18' at the junction of the inclinedPOItiOIlS'Z-Z and the vertical'portions 19 thereof.

A carriage comprising a baror rod like mem ber 24 havingparalleltransversely extending end portions" 251s mounted onthe transverselyextending members l8 -by means of' thecoll'ars 26' which are welded tothe tra'nsversely extendingportions 25 and are slidably mounted on thetransversely extending bars It, said collars: 26 bemg arranged-inp'airs;-- aswillbe obvious from Figs;- 1, 2 3=a n'd A deilector' b .eg ri providedzlwhic'h com prises. a plate-like member 21 that has; an upwardly directed portion 28 extending perpendicularlyfto the portion 21,aportion 2.9; extendin parallel to the main body portion 21 thereof andupwardly offset relative thereto and adepcndi-ng; flange portion 3a. Abracing; plate it extends from the upwardly directed portion 28 to the.plate-like member 211' near its end remote from the upwardly extendingportion 2.2; and has a. downwardly turned end porti'onfii that is:welded: to the plate-like member 21., the bracing member 31 beingalsowelded to. thelupwardly. extending portion 28 of theplate-likemember- 21' at. its point of engagement therewith. The portion 29' ofthe deflector belt carrier has a pair of brackets 33. welded theretothat extend .fiorwardiy and rearwardly from the portion 29 adjacent: theflange. 3B. Screw-threaded: adjusting members-- 34- engage.screw-threaded opening in the transversely extending portions 25 of the.oarriagezand. have knurled 1162.65.35, by means of which. the same areadjustable, said sorew-t'hreadedmembers having heads 35; that are.engaged with the. under sides of the ears. 33 and being rotatably'mounted in suitable openings: in. said ears 33', said openings looselyreceiving the: members 34.

A screw-threadedrmember having a knurled. head 38 is screw-threadedlyengaged. with an. opening in thelongitudinally? extending member 23 andis rotatablymonnted in an opening the: bracing member 3|. Saidscrew-threaded meme ber hasa reduced end-portion that. has a; collar 39fixed to the same, engaging:.-the: under side of: the bracing member31!, and hasa collar; 4B fixed. thereto on the upper .sidewoff the.member 3-l-uso that rotation of "the memberiiflr 'by means ofztheknurledhead 38: thereoniwill: ad'justnthe bracing. member 3 I and. thus:theplateelikei member: 2=-'I-. to Vary: the spacing thereorrelative to:the longitudinally: extending 'barior rod-like member: 2:31 of. theframe.

The screw-threaded adjusting: members; 34 have washers A lmounte'dfthereon, the. upward movement of said washers beingprevented-thy means of pins 4 2; and 'coil'. springs. 13 being; mountedbetween said; washers;- andthe. brackets; 33. The springs 43* areoffsuohstrength that the same will hO1d th6lhBdSi36rfiTm1y in engagementwith the: under' sides-oft the braclretsteirr-ailad. J'usted positionsofftheparts; It? will be: obvious that the members: 3.4: canbe adjusted;so 'as to: locate the brackets: 331 at; any: desired spacing, from theconveyor-a l3. and-that by adjusting :the members 34': and. 3.1 theplateelikemembenzl can: be adjusted to a" positionsubstantiailyparallel: to the surface of the conveyor !3, assliown .imFig. 5, or at -any desired=.oblique angle to the: surface oftheconveyorbelt ;l 3 such an oblique position for said plate like member 2-? beingshown in Fig. Also the plate-like 'member Z1 and" the -parts carriedthereby canbe adjusted" transversely of" the conveyor: belt l.3*by'adjustment of thecarriage. along the. transverse meme b6rs.i;8.. V

The upper. portionlflT of.the plate-like. member 21 has, a pairoflguiderailefiiprOvided thereom,

on'whichthebase member .4.5 on whiohtheelece tr-ic motor 46- ismounted-is longitudinally. slidable. Said-base member lilhasascrew-threaded. member 1 it engaged: therewith,- that is:rotatablymountediinaa. lugr idithatitextends. upwardly, from=- thepo'r-tion; 2 9, said; member 47; having a:-. knurled! headflr'ltthereon. for rotating: they same;-- It will: 5

.be obvious that the motor 46 can be moved lone threaded member 41.

Mounted in suitable bearings, such as the bearing 50 shown in Figs. 3and 5, on the depending flange 38 and on the upstanding portion 28 ofthe plate-like member 21 are conveyor rollers and 52. A conveyor belt 53extends over the rollers 5| and 52 and the roller 5I has its shaftextending beyond the upstanding portion 28 of the plate-like member andhas a pulley 54 mounted thereon to rotate therewith, and a belt 55extends over the pulley 54 and over a variable speed pulley device 55provided on the shaft of the motor 46. The variable speed pulley device56 is of a well known standard character and the tension on the belt 55determines the adjustment of said variable speed pulley. Thus if themotor 46 is moved toward the right in Figs. 1 and 2 the effectivediameter of the variable speed pulley device 56 will be reduced and therate of rotation of the conveyor roller 5| will be decreased, whereas ifthe motor 46 is moved to the left as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 theopposite adjustment will occur and the speed of the conveyor roller 5Iwill be increased.

It will be obvious that, by means of the speed adjusting means thusprovided for the belt 53, said belt can be operated at the same linealspeed as the conveyor .belt I3. The lower run of the belt 53 will travelin the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. '4, which is the same asthe direction of travel of the conveyor belt I3. Thus if the two beltsare adjusted to exactly the same lineal speed a piece of sheeted doughI5 that passes into position between the deflector belt 53 and theconveyor belt I3 will be carried along between these two belts, and withthe parts in the adjusted position shown in Fig. 3, the dough pieces I5will be halted in their movement crosswise of the conveyor I3 by thebelt 53 while being carried along between said belt 53 and the conveyorbelt I3. The action of the belts I3 and 53 will prevent any working ofthe dough piece I5 and any distortion thereof, except a thickening ofthe dough piece I5 adjacent the edge I 5 and the formation of a straightedge along the edge I6, as shown in Fig. 6. The straight edge It willlie parallel to the side edge I! of the conveyor belt I3 and will be ata predetermined definite distance from the side edge I1 of the conveyorbelt, which is dependent upon the adjustment of the position of the belt53, which is determined by the adjustment of the screws 34 and 31 and ofthe carriage on the transverse members I 8. The movement of the doughpiece I5 transversely of the belt I8 will be halted at a point where thebelt 53 is slightly more closely spaced relative to the conveyor'belt I3than the thickness of the-sheeted piece of dough I5. However, due tothe'momenturn of the dough piece I5 there will be a tendency for thedough to pile up or slightly thicken ad jacent theedge I6, as shown at5'! in Fig. 3. 7

A roller 58 is provided above the conveyor belt I3 in spaced relation tothe deflecting belt j 53 and said rolleris mounted to be freelyrotatable in bearing members59 that are vertically adjustable inupwardly extending standards 65 that extend upwardly from thetable I4 onopposite sides of the conveyor belt. The standards 59 are shown ashaving rectangular openings 5! therein, in which the rectangular bearingblocks 59 are vertically slidable; adjustment thereof being obtained bymeans of the adjusting screws 52 that are provided with knurled heads 63for adjusting the same, i .7 f. f

Thus any adjustment of the roller 58 relative to the conveyor belt I 3can be obtained, but, preferably, the roller 58 is adjusted so as tohave its axis'of rotation extend parallel to the conveyor belt I3 andspaced a slight amount closer to the surface of the conveyor belt I3than the thickness of the dough piece I5 at its thickened edge I8. Theroller 58 will rotate with the dough piece I5 engaged therewith due tothe motion of the conveyor belt I3, and inasmuch as the conveyor belt I3is in engagement with the rigid table top III the roller 58 will exert aslight rolling or reshaping action on the dough piece I 5 so as todistribute the thickened portion 51 of the dough piece over the adjacentarea thereof so as to provide a flattened or sheeted dough piece that isof substantially the same thickness throughout its entire area after itleaves the roller 58 and passes between a pair of angular guide members34 that extend lengthwise of the conveyor belt I3. This equalization ofthe thickness of the piece of dough will cause the edge It to becomeslightly convex instead of straight after leaving the roller 58.

The guide members 54 have horizontal flanges 55 that are pivotallyconnected by means of pivot members 56 with enlargements 57 on the endsof rod-like members 58, which rod-like members are adjustably clamped inbrackets 53, the clamping means having knurled heads 18 thereon fortightening and releasing the clamping means from the rod-like members68; It will be noted that there is a pair of said brackets 58 and a pairof said rod-like members 63 pivotally connected with the flanges 65 nearthe opposite ends of the guide members 64 and that any desired spacingof the guide members 64 transversely of the conveyor belt I3 can beobtained by means of the adjustable mounting thereof; It will also benoted that the entrance ends; which are the left hand ends, as viewed inFigsal and 2, of said guide members 66, have the oblique upstandingflange portion II provided thereon to direct dough pieces into properposition between said guide members 54, and that said guide members 54are spaced further apart at the entrance ends thereof than the width ofsaid dough piece I5 crosswise of the belt I3. This adjustment of theguides 54 isdesirable as it'will permit the escape of any air trappedbetween the curls of the dough piece as it is curled up or rolled up onitself as described below.

The dough pieces I5 will thus pass into position between the guidemembers 54 as the same move from left to right as viewed in Figs. 1 and2, and while said guide members 54 are shown as being in slightlyconverging relation from the entrance to the exit end thereof these maybe arranged in parallelism or in any angular relationship to each otherthat may be found desirable to obtain the desired length of molded loaf.

A flexible chain mesh member I2 is mounted a on a transverse bar is bymeans of upstandin pin .14, being detachable from said pins so tfi'tsaid flexible chain mesh member .72 can be adjusted on the bar I3 to adesired position crosswisef'of the conveyor belt l3. The bar I3 ismounted on brackets I5 that are longitudinally adjustable onthe upperhorizontal. arms I8 of standards TI, which are in turn verticallyadjustable in the brackets 18 mounted on the table I44; 5

The flexible chain mesh member I2 thus adjustable to vary the locationthereof lengthwise I of the conveyor. belt and the'inclination thereofacaasvs 9 relative to the conveyor belt. The height of said chain meshmember 12 is, preferably, so adjusted that the end 79 thereof will onlyengage the sheeted dough piece 15 sufiiciently to turnover the leadingedge thereof slightly, as shown at =80 in Fig. *7. The edge 19 of thechain mesh member 3-2 is, preferably, furthermore so located byadjustment of said member 12 that it will be located closely adjacentand slightly under the forward inclined portion -81 provided on thepressure board 82.

The pressure board 82 is provided witha belt 83, which is ordinarilystationary, but is adjustable in position and operates over a roller 8-4and a smaller roller 85 to thus provide the inclined portion 81 on saidbelt-like member. li h'e beltlike member 83 is provided principally toprovide an engaging surface for the pressure board that is adjustable soas to present a clean surface to the dough pieces when this is desired.The pressure board is mounted for vertical slidin'g movement up and downon standards 86 that extend through brackets 81 and said standards 86are provided with adjustable stop members 88 to limit movement of thepressure board away from the conveyor belt l3.

As the piece of dough with the end 80 thereof turned back as shown inFig. '7 moves under the pressure board 82 it engages the inclinedforward race 81 thereof so as to further tuf-n @Vi 6r eifil the piece ofdough, and this curling action coriti-hlies as the dough piece passesalong under the pressure board in enga ement with the bottom portion 89of the belt-like member 83. The pressil'i'e board normauy engages thedough pieces by the action of gravity, pressing sewn on the dough piecesso as to tightly ran up or m nd the piece of sheeted dough on itself andfirmly seal the adjacent surfaces of the layers or plies of the doughpiece as it is curled up, any all trapped between the turns of sheeteddough escaping at the open ends of "the coiled up piece of dough betweensaid 'e 'nds and the guides '63 spaced therefrom as the ceiling orcurling takes place, and finally rolls the curled-up piece of dough overbetween the pressure board and the conveyor belt so as to firmly sealthe trailing edge 90 of the dough piece 15 to the adjacent body portionthereof. Fig. '7 the dough piece is shown as being partly curled up onitself at 91 with the edge 90 trailing behihd the curled-up portion.However, before the dough piece has left the pressure board it will becompletely rolled up on itself and will pass iri a rolled-up condition,as indicated. at 9? in 1, from under the pressure board with its ends inengagement with the guides 64'. The molded loaf 8-2 will then be inproper position and of proper length to be fed into the pan 93 Withoutany os- 's'ibilit'y or the ends of the molded loaf overlapping the endsof the pan 93.

The pans 93 are moved into position to receive the molded loaves ofbread on a cohveyor comprising a pair of belts 94, which move theirection indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1; said conve cr receiving thepans from a roller conv yor, of which one of the rollers '55 is shown inFig; l. The conveyor is provided with suitable means "for presenting thepans 93 proper position to receive the molded loaves 92, the detailsofconstructioh of said means not forming part of this invention.

If, instead of feeding the dough pieces froriia viewed in-Fig. l, thenthe plate 21 is adjusted as show-nin 5 -to locate the belt 53 with itsiower run substantially parallel to the conveyor belt 1 3, in which casethe belts 53 and 13 will cooperate to carry the dough pieces to theroller ea and to the loaf forming mechanism above described, in a,similar manner to that described above. ,7

-In operation, the pieces of sheeted dough I5 are fed from the sheetingmechanism under the plate-like member 21-, which deflects the doughpieces toward the conveyor belt 13 and under the belt 53, the belt 53further acting to deflect the dough pieces It toward the conveyor beltl3 as these are projected substantially horizontally across the conveyorbelt 13. While the conveyor H) is intended to project the dough pieceshorizontally across the conveyor belt l3, due to the sudden discharge ofsaid dough pieces [5 from the conveyor belt and the momentum that saiddough pieces have, there is a tendency for the dough pieces to moveupwardly away from the conveyor belt I3 the plate-like member 21 andbelt 53 ccoperating to prevent such undesirable movement away from theconveyor belt l3 and cause said dough pieces to engage fiat with saidconveyor belt. Furthermore when the plate like member 21 is adjusted toan obliquely extending position relative to the conveyor belt l3, asshown for sheeting mechanism that is located to one side of the conve or13, the dough pieces are 'fed to the conveyor l3 from the left endthlebj, as

example in Fig. 3-, the dough pieces 5-, which are all of substantiallyuniform size, are stopped by wedging between the belt 53 and the belt l3at a definite accurate spacing from the one s-i'de edge H of the belt 13so that the edge it of said dough piece 15 will lie at such definitespacin'g from the side edge I! of the conveyor belt.

At the same time the dough piece will be changed from a substantiallycircular shape, "as shown on the conveyor belt H] in Fig. 1 tosubstantially the shape shown in Fig. 6, with a straight side edge alongthe edge 16 thereof. The combined action of the belts 53 and I3 then"carries these dough pieces 15 with the straight side edge '16 parallelto the side edge I! of the conveyor belt under the roller 58 where theseare slightly re-shaped so as to reduce the thickness of the slightlythickened portion 51 thereof. which is shown in Fig. "3. The doughpieces 15 after they leave the roller 58 are of uniform thieliness.These then pass between the guides t4 and have the leading ed'gesthereof turned back as shown at so Fig. 7 by means or the fieiiiblemember 12 and are then completely curled up into a molded loaf afld theadjoining faces 6f the adjacent layers fir'ml'y sealed together by ofthe pressure board 82. Upon discharge from the pressure board said doughpieces which lie between the guides '64 pass along on the conveyormolded waves '92 have been formed of a definite predetermined length andare located at an eiiact determine iocation on the convey r belt it.said molded dough pieces orlo'aves will pass into the pans 9-3 accurateland thus each molded loaf will be panned properly without any overiapingcf the molded loaves on either end of the pair. Also due to the factthat the dough pieces I5 are to the loaf forming mechanism always at thesam transverse location on the co veyor belt is and are of uniform sizeand of substantially uniiorm thickness throughout the entire areathereof, the loaves that will be formed will be of niform crosssectional area from end to end and thus of uniform size after baking,avoiding ahy irr gul rly sha ed or crippled loaves of bread.

What we claim is:

1. In a molding machine, loaf forming means from one side thereofcomprising means for projecting said pieces of dough crosswise of said"conveyor belt, and means for deflecting said pieces of dough toward thesurface of said belt and halting said pieces of dough in their travelcrosswise of said belt at a predetermined location transversely of saidbelt comprising a belt mounted above said conveyor belt and means formoving the lower run thereof in the same direction as said conveyorbelt.

2. In a molding machine, loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt,means for feeding sheeted pieces of dough to said conveyor belt from oneside thereof comprising means for projecting said pieces of doughcrosswise of said conveyor belt, and means for deflecting said :piecesof dough toward the surface of said belt and halting said pieces ofdough in their travel crosswise of said belt at a predetermined locationtransversely of said belt comprising a belt mounted above said conveyorbelt, means for moving the lower run thereof in the same direction assaid conveyor belt, and means for adlusting the speed of said secondbelt.

3. In a molding machine, loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt,means for feeding sheeted pieces of dough to said conveyor belt from oneside thereof comprising means for pro jecting said pieces of doughcrosswise of said conveyor belt, and means for deflecting said pieces ofdough toward the surface of said belt and halting said pieces of doughin their travel crosswise of said belt at a predetermined locationtransversely of said belt comprising a belt mounted above said conveyorbelt, means for moving the lower run thereof in the same direction assaid conveyor belt, and means for adjusting the position of said secondbelt relative to said conveyor belt.

4. In a molding machine, loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt,means for feeding sheeted pieces of dough to said conveyor belt from oneside thereof comprising means for projecting said pieces of doughcrosswise of said conveyor belt, and means for deflecting said pieces ofdough toward the surface of said belt and halting said pieces of doughin their travel crosswise of said belt at a predetermined locationtransversely of said belt comprising a belt mounted above said conveyorbelt, means for moving the lower run thereof in the same direction assaid conveyor belt, and means for adjusting the position of said secondbelt relative to said conveyor belt comprising means for varying theangular relationship of the lower run of said second belt to saidconveyor belt.

5. In a molding machine, loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt,means for feeding sheeted pieces of dough to said conveyor belt from oneside thereof comprising means for projecting said pieces of doughcrosswise of said conveyor belt, and means for deflecting said pieces ofdough toward the surface of said belt and halting said pieces of doughin their travel crosswise of said belt at a predetermined locationtransversely of said belt comprising a belt mounted above said conveyorbelt, means for moving the lower run thereof in the same direction assaid conveyor belt, and means for adjusting the position of said secondbelt relative to said conveyor belt comprising means for adjusting saidsecond belt transversely of said conveyor belt.

6.1In a molding machine, loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt,means for feeding sheeted pieces of dough to said conveyor belt from oneside thereof comprising means for proon themselves to form a loaf.

jecting said pieces of dough crosswise of said conveyor belt, downwardlyinclined means for deflecting said sheeted pieces of dough projectedbetween said belt and said means toward the surface of said belt andhalting said pieces of dough in their travel crosswise of said belt at apredetermined location transversely of said belt, and a roller engagingsaid sheeted pieces of dough on'said conveyor belt after passing out ofengagement with said deflecting means.

7. In a molding machine, loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt,means for feeding sheeted pieces of dough to said conveyor belt from oneside thereof comprising means for projecting said pieces of dough in adirection substantially parallel to the top face of and crosswise ofsaid conveyor belt, means for downwardly jdeflecting said pieces ofsheeted dough toward 'on said conveyor belt after passing out ofengagement with said deflecting means to equalize the thickness of saidpieces of sheeted dough, and means for curling said sheeted dough pieces8. In a molding machine, loaf forming means from one side thereofcomprising means for projecting said pieces of dough crosswise of saidconveyor belt, and means for deflecting said pieces of dough toward thesurface of said belt and halting said pieces of dough in their travelcrosswise of said belt at a predetermined loca tion transversely of saidbelt comprising a belt mounted above said conveyor belt and extending atan oblique angle to said conveyor belt, and means for moving the lowerrun thereof in the same direction as said conveyor belt.

9. In a molding machine, loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt,means for feeding sheeted pieces of dough to said conveyor belt from oneside thereof comprising means for projecting said pieces of doughcrosswise of said conveyor belt, and means for deflecting said pieces ofdough toward the surface of said belt and halting said pieces of doughin their travel crosswise of said belt at a predetermined locationtransversely of said belt comprising a belt mounted above said conveyorbelt and extending at an oblique angle to said conveyor belt, means formoving the lower run thereof in the same direction as said conveyor beltand means for adjusting the spacing of said second belt from saidconveyor belt.

10. In a molding machine, loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt,means for feeding sheeted pieces of dough to said conveyor belt from oneside thereof comprising means for projecting said pieces of doughcrosswise of said conveyor belt, and means for deflecting said mountedabove said conveyor belt and extending at an oblique angle to saidconveyor belt, means for moving the lower run thereof in the samedirection as said conveyor belt and means for independently adjustingthe spacing of the two side edges of said second belt from said conveyorbelt.

11. In a molding machine, loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt,inclined deflecting means above said belt, means for feeding sheetedpieces of dough to said conveyor belt from one side thereof comprisingmeans for projecting said pieces of dough crosswise of said conveyorbelt between said deflecting means and the top of said belt, said meansdeflecting said sheeted pieces of dough toward the surface of said beltand halting said pieces of dough in their travel crosswise of said beltat a predetermined location transversely of said belt, means for curlingsaid sheeted dough pieces on themselves to form a loaf, and means forequalizing the thickness of said sheeted dough pieces between saiddeflecting means and said curling means.

12. In a molding machine, loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt,means for feeding sheeted pieces of dough to said conveyor belt from oneside thereof comprising means for projecting said pieces of doughcrosswise of said conveyor belt, and means for deflecting said pieces ofdough toward the surface of said belt and halting said pieces of doughin their travel crosswise of said belt at a predetermined locationtransversely of said belt, comprising a belt mounted above and extendingat an oblique angle to said conveyor belt.

13. In a molding machine, a conveyor belt, loaf forming meanscooperating therewith, means for feeding sheeted pieces of dough to saidconveyor belt from one side thereof by projecting said pieces of doughcrosswise of said belt, means for locating said sheeted dough pieces onsaid conveyor belt comprising combination inclined deflecting and stopmeans for the pieces of dough as the same are projected crosswise ofsaid conveyor belt and a roller for equalizing the thickness of thepieces of dough on said conveyor belt between said deflecting and stopmeans and said loaf forming means, the spacing of said roller above saidconveyor belt being adjustable.

14. In loaf forming means a conveyor belt, a belt mounted above saidconveyor belt, said belt being disposed in such proximity to saidconveyor belt as to define a slot-like space between said belts, meansfor driving the lower run thereof in the same direction as said conveyorbelt, feeding means projecting sheeted dough pieces endwise therefromcrosswise of said conveyor belt into said slot-like space, and means forshifting said second belt bodily crosswise relative to said conveyorbelt.

15. In a loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt and curling meansengaging said belt, a belt mounted above said conveyor belt, means formoving the lower run thereof in the same direction as the upper run ofsaid conveyor belt, and sheeted dough piece projecting means at one sideof said conveyor belt feeding sheeted dough pieces endwise of themselvesacross the opposed faces of said belts between the same.

16. In a loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt and curling meansengaging said belt, a belt mounted above said conveyor belt, means formoving the lower run thereof in the same direction as the upper run ofsaid conveyor belt, and sheeted dough piece projecting means at one sideof said conveyor belt feeding sheeted dough pieces endwise of themselvesacross the opposed faces of said belts between the same, said upper beltbeing mounted in position to confine said sheeted dough pieces to apredetermined path of projection onto said conveyor belt.

17. In loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt, a feeding conveyorfor projecting sheeted dough pieces across a marginal edge of said beltendwise from said feeding conveyor across said conveyor belt from oneside thereof and means for deflecting said pieces of dough toward thesurface of said belt extending over the discharge and of said feedingconveyor in spaced relation thereto and inclining downwardly from abovesaid feeding conveyor over said belt transversely thereof.

18. In loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt, a feeding conveyorfor projecting sheeted dough pieces across a marginal edge of said beltendwise from said feeding conveyor across said conveyor belt from oneside thereof and means for positioning said pieces of dough on said beltcomprising a rigid deflector plate extending over the discharge end ofsaid feeding conveyor in spaced relation thereto and incliningdownwardly from above said feeding conveyor over said belt transverselythereof.

19. In loaf forming means comprising a conveyor belt, a conveyor forprojecting sheeted dough pieces endwise therefrom across said conveyorbelt from one side thereof and means for deflecting said pieces of doughtoward the surface of said belt extending over the discharge end of saidconveyor in spaced relation thereto and in-- clining downwardly oversaid belt transversely thereof, and means for mounting said deflectingmeans comprising means for adjusting the extent of said deflecting meansover said conveyor and means for adjusting the inclination of saiddeflecting means relative to said belt.

20. In loaf forming means, a conveyor belt, a support adjacent the same,a carriage mounted on said support over said belt, a belt mounted abovesaid conveyor belt on said carriage, means for moving the lower runthereof in the same direction as said conveyor belt, feeding meansprojecting said sheeted dough pieces endwise therefrom into the spacebetween said belts substantially parallel to the top face of saidconveyor belt, and means for varying the transverse angular relationshipof the lower run of the second belt to said conveyor belt, comprisingmeans for mounting said carriage for movement about an axis extendingparallel to the length of said conveyor belt and means for adjustingsaid carriage about said axis.

JOHN E. MOHR.

MERLIN A. STICELBER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 787,274 Burns Apr. 11, 1905 1,781,546 Harber Nov. 11, 19301,816,844 Harber Aug. 4, 1931 2,021,251 Brykczynski et al. -g- Nov. 19,1935 2,036,531 Kosman et al. Apr. 7, 1936 2,077,896 Quick Apr. 20, 19372,135,778 Wyland Nov. 8, 1938 2,323,537 Harber July 6, 1943 2,391,691Engels Dec. 25, 1945

